An ultrasound wave is transmitted from a probe (120) to a moving reflector (130) and the reflected ultrasound wave is received back by the same probe (120). With n-divided wave bands of the to-be-used spectrum, the ultrasound wave to be transmitted is made up of up chirp signals and down chirp signals from n number of down chirp signal generators (112, 113) and up chirp signal generators (116, 117), creating complementary multiplexed chirp signals through synthesizers (114, 118). Cross-correlation is taken by a correlator between the reception signal received at the probe (120) and the up chirp and the down chirp signals, respectively, so as to provide compressed up and down signals and then combining the obtained compressed signals through synthesizers (144, 148). Doppler measurement is performed by determining the correlation distance through taking the cross-correlation between these compressed signals by a cross-correlator (160) and performing envelope detection by an envelope detector (170).
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An ultrasound measurement apparatus, comprising: a multiplexed chirp signal generator, which generates a multiplexed chirp signal through synthesizing chirp signals that are divided into a plurality of frequency wave bands; a probe, which transmits an ultrasound wave of the multiplexed chirp signal and receives a reflected wave from a measurement subject; and a compressed signal generator, which provides a compressed signal of the received signals from the probe by taking correlation between the received signals and the chirp signals that are divided into a plurality of frequency wave bands so as to obtain a plurality of compressed signals and then synthesizing the plurality of compressed signals.
2. The ultrasound measurement apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the multiplexed chirp signal generator generates a complementary multiplexed chirp signal through synthesizing down chirp signals and up chirp signals that are divided into a plurality of frequency wave bands; and the compressed signal generator provides compressed signals of a plurality of down chirp signals and up chirp signals by taking the correlation between the received signal from the probe and the down chirp and the up chirp signals that are divided into a plurality of frequency wave bands so as to obtain compressed signals of the down chirp and the up chirp signals through respectively synthesizing the compressed signals of the down chirp signals and the compressed signals of the up chirp signals, further comprising: a cross-correlator, which takes cross-correlation using the compressed signals of the down chirp and the up chirp signals from the compressed signal generator; wherein Doppler measurement is performed based on the correlation distance of the cross-correlation.
3. The ultrasound measurement apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the multiplexed chirp signal generator generates a multiplexed chirp signal by synthesizing down chirp signals or up chirp signals that are divided into a plurality of frequency wave bands; and the compressed signal generator generates a compressed signal by taking the correlation between the received signal from the probe and down chirp signals or up chirp signals that are divided into a plurality of frequency wave bands so as to obtain a plurality of compressed signals and then synthesizing the plurality of compressed signals; further comprising: a transmission path between the probe and measurement subject; a scanning unit, which scans the measurement subject using the transmission path and the probe; an image processing unit, which provides a tomogram by processing the compressed signals; and a display device, which displays the tomogram.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 1, 2001
July 19, 2005
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